(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Over 60 dogs from Illinois are among those competing at the 148th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, which runs through Tuesday in New York City.
Dogs compete by breed, as well as in groups, such as: hound, toy, terrier, sporting, non-sporting, working and herding dogs.
There are also obedience and agility championships, as well as one dog winning the ultimate prize of Best in Show.
Over 2,500 dogs from 200 different breeds and varieties, which are subsets of breeds, signed up to try for the best in show trophy to be awarded Tuesday night.
Winners of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show win only bragging rights and a trophy — no cash, though the agility and obedience winners each will get to direct a $5,000 Westminster donation to a training club or to the American Kennel Club Humane Fund.
This year’s dog show comes months after a Chicago-area veterinarian and Havanese breeder, who was set to judge some of the toy breeds at Westminster, was arrested on federal charges of distributing child sexual abuse photos and videos.
Shortly after King's arrest, the American Kennel Club, which is essentially the governing body for Westminster and thousands of other U.S. dog competitions, revoked his judging privileges and his Westminster appointment was scrapped.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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